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Former cycling chief Pat McQuaid says Lance Armstrong was made a ‘scapegoat’

Published 22:09 27 Jan 2015 GMT

Updated 22:10 27 Jan 2015 GMT

Gareth Makim
Former cycling chief Pat McQuaid says Lance Armstrong was made a ‘scapegoat’

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The Lance rehabilitation campaign is in full swing, it appears.

Former international cycling boss Pat McQuaid has described shamed American cyclist Lance Armstrong as the victim of 'a witch hunt' and believes the self-confessed doper, who was banned for life by US anti-doping chiefs and stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, has been harshly treated. In BBC radio interview, Irishman McQuaid, who headed the UCI from 2006 to 2013, said: 'He was very much made a scapegoat, there was a witch hunt after Armstrong.' 'USADA wanted a big name. They weren't really interested in the smaller riders and also they made deals with the smaller riders in order to get the information they needed on the big guys. 'I can have a certain sympathy because I don't think in sport, people in those situations, I think they should be treated equally.'

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Former cycling chief Pat McQuaid says Lance Armstrong was made a 'scapegoat'